This invention relates to the field of sanitary receptacles for pets such as cats which contain an absorbent material referred to as litter, and particularly to those receptacles which themselves are disposable when the litter is ready to be disposed of.
Prior art devices in this field have been inconvenient to use, usually requiring some assembly by the purchaser, and usually requiring the purchaser to then obtain and pour the litter material in the box after it has been assembled. Examples of such prior art devices include those disclosed in the following U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,685 discloses a unit which requires assembling a box out of a flat sheet of box-forming material. Even though when assembled the corners of the box overlap, it appears that cracks and openings will still exist through which liquids can seep. In the present invention, the box is made by the manufacturer with side walls having intergrally joined corners, or otherwise made so as to eliminate openings and cracks through which liquids can seep. No assembly of the box is needed by the purchaser of the kitty litter box and bag combination in accordance with the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,360 discloses a disposable animal litter box but without any bag of liquid impermeable material in which to enclose the box when ready for disposal. A previous torn away perforated strip is all that is used to cover the used litter, merely replacing it in the opening of the box from which it was originally torn away.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,544 discloses a flat sheet of material such as cardboard with score lines, tabs and slots whereby a cat litter box can be assembled for use and eventually discarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,787 discloses a plurality of litter boxes housed in stacked relationship within a separate box which the purchaser has to assemble. When the litter in the top one of the stacked boxes has been used and ready to dispose of, that one is thrown out and the cover on the box below is torn off to expose the litter therein for use. A separate carrying case is provided for the entire assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,901 discloses an originally sealed box having a separate bag of cat litter therein, the sides of the original box being foldable outwardly when the tearstrip is torn away thereby providing the box in which the litter is poured for use by the cats.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,155 discloses a book-fold type of receptacle and a flexible sheet line is placed within this receptacle with portions of the edges of the flexible sheet liner gripped in serrated slots formed in the side walls of the receptacle. When a flexible sheet bag or liner is placed within the litter box, it quickly becomes torn from the cats' scratching. The present invention places a flexible sheet disposal bag outside of the litter box, where it cannot be scratched by the cats and torn, and where it serves as an extra measure of protection to retain any liquids that may eventually soak through a cardboard box or any other material that is inexpensive enough to be used for a disposable litter box. The band surrounding the folds of the bag holding them against the side walls of the box in accordance with the present invention, makes the bag itself into an outer protective wall receptacle which can contain not only liquid that may soak through the box material but any which may leak out in the event a break should occur in the bottom or side walls of the carboard box. In other words, the bag provides an extra layer of protection against leads when used outside of the box with its folded peripheral wall extending upwardly the length of the side walls of the box and held there by a surrounding belt or band.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,137 discloses a flexible sheet bag of thermoplastic material such as polyethylene placed within a cat litter box. As pointed out above, such material is readily torn by cats using the box and then scratching the bottom. The present invention solves that problem by providing a flexible sheet disposal bag outside of the litter box, and then supporting its folded peripheral wall along the peripheral side walls of the box by a band or belt to serve as a second layer of protection against leaks which is particularly important to have for a disposable unit made of throw away materials. The litter box itself in U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,137 is not disposable but described as re-usable with a new bag or liner after the previous one has been thrown away. Therefore, the problem still remains of having to clean the litter box itself each time the plastic bag is torn by cats' scratching allowing liquids and the litter itself to break through into the box.